1) Doom metal band fro… Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist with this name.
1) Doom metal band from Coventry, England. The group was formed in 1989 by Lee Dorrian (formerly vocalist of Napalm Death), Mark 'Griff' Griffiths (a Carcass roadie) and Gary 'Gaz' Jennings (previously a member of UK thrashers Acid Reign). The band forged a link between early doom metal and a 1990s extreme metal aesthetic, making doom slower and heavier. Their debut album, Forest Of Equilibrium, is considered a classic of the genre, though the band would later add psychedelic and progressive rock influences and play in a more uptempo and groove-oriented fashion.
In 1989 Lee Dorrian left his former band Napalm Death mainly because he was getting sick of the punk scene and did not like the death metal direction Napalm Death was heading towards. Cathedral was formed after Lee Dorrian and Mark Griffiths met and discussed their love for doom bands like Candlemass, Dream Death, Pentagram, Trouble, and Witchfinder General.
The only original band members in the current line-up are Lee Dorrian and Garry 'Gaz' Jennings on guitars, although Jennings did once leave the band in their early history, only to rejoin shortly afterwards.
After no news from the band since they toured for The Garden of Unearthly Delights, they played their first show in two years at Damnation Festival 2008, in Leeds. They played a new song and have confirmed dates for 2009 including Hellfest.
The band began to wind down their live performances in 2012. Shortly after, it was announced they would be splitting up after the release of "The Last Spire" (2013).
2) An American progressive rock band, whose 1978 album, “Stained Glass Stories,” was later released on CD by Syn-phonic in 1991. Cathedral’s sound is strongly reminiscent of Yes’s Relayer era, with many qualities of Gentle Giant. They are undoubtedly a major influence for the early 90’s prog rock band Anglagard. The band released a follow-up album in 2007 titled, “The Bridge”.
3) A Spanish group of the 90’s. It was founded by the ex-keyboardist of “Medina Azahara”, Pablo Rabadán. The principal members are: Pablo Rabadán with the acoustic piano and the synthesizers, Manuel Varona at the vocal and electric guitar, Pablo Jiménez at the electric bass and Gérman Castro with the drums. They recorded only one disc of really good quality, its name is “Vendidos al Sol” (1996). The band plays a mixture of classic hard rock and a little of progressive and symphonic sound pure with Pablo’s keyboards.
4) A progressive rock band from Washington DC in the early 1990s, with the albums Kingdom of Ends, and There in the Shadows. Keyboardist Todd Braverman continued to explore progressive music with the band Ad Infinitum.
Aphrodite
Cathedral Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Goddess of the underworld cold queen of lost beauty
Gazed upon earth's battleground
At mankind's misery
With her sadness came love's death
As violence slowly seized
Her weeping tears of darkness crystallized the earth
Frosted armies paused in war now wearing beards of snow
Perishing forevermore, her bite numbs to the bone
Housed in icy caves, men of peace rest in these times of woe
Shaking in glass coffins, waiting for the sun to glow
She cast her spell on earth and all emotion died
Her languid heart dulled the skies with love's demise
She crystallized the earth with water from her eyes
A frozen sun now hangs above this land's demise.
The lyrics of Cathedral's song "Aphrodite's Winter" describe a mythical portrayal of winter personified as the Greek goddess of love, beauty and fertility, Aphrodite. However, in this interpretation, she is depicted as the "Goddess of the underworld" who brings about the freezing winter with her sadness and pain. The song paints a bleak and melancholic imagery of a frozen land where love and emotions have died and mankind is left to suffer in misery.
The lyrics indicate that love and violence are interconnected, and as Aphrodite weeps in sorrow, the world around her freezes in response to her tears. The coldness of her heart is mirrored in the frozen landscape and the icy demeanor of people, who are depicted as "men of peace" waiting for the thawing sun. The imagery of "weeping tears of darkness" and "bitterness crystallized" captures the essence of the numbing cold and apathy of a hopeless winter.
The song's metaphorical portrayal of winter as the goddess of love and beauty is a unique interpretation of the season's character. It speaks to the idea that winter can be a time of sadness and isolation, where people feel numb and detached from the world around them. The lyrics are very poetic and use vivid and evocative language to illustrate the bleakness of the winter landscape. Overall, the song Aphrodite's Winter is a deep exploration of winter's darker side, and a reflection on how it can impact the human spirit.
Line by Line Meaning
Frozen land mesmerized by her arcane mystery
The mysterious goddess, Aphrodite, has created a frozen and enchanted landscape.
Goddess of the underworld cold queen of lost beauty
Aphrodite is the queen of a frozen underworld who has lost her beauty to sadness and despair.
Gazed upon earth's battleground
Aphrodite looks upon the war and destruction happening on Earth.
At mankind's misery
She is sad at the misery and suffering of mankind.
With her sadness came love's death
As she feels sadness and despair, love begins to die.
As violence slowly seized
Violence takes over the land as her sadness and despair grow.
Her weeping tears of darkness crystallized the earth
Aphrodite's tears freeze and crystallize the earth, turning it into a frozen wasteland.
As warmth turned colder, her grief chilled away all mirth
As her sadness grows, the warm and happy emotions disappear and everything becomes cold and lifeless.
Frosted armies paused in war now wearing beards of snow
The armies that were fighting in the war are now frozen and covered in snow, frozen in time and motion.
Perishing forevermore, her bite numbs to the bone
The frozen wasteland created by Aphrodite is deadly, causing people to become frozen and lifeless forever.
Housed in icy caves, men of peace rest in these times of woe
People seek refuge in icy caves, hoping to find peace in these dark and desolate times.
Shaking in glass coffins, waiting for the sun to glow
The frozen people are waiting for the sun to thaw them out of their icy coffins and bring warmth back to the land.
She cast her spell on earth and all emotion died
Aphrodite's sadness and despair have taken over the land, causing all emotion to die.
Her languid heart dulled the skies with love's demise
Aphrodite's frozen and lifeless heart has caused the skies to become dulled with the death of love.
She crystallized the earth with water from her eyes
Aphrodite's tears have frozen and crystallized the entire earth, turning it into a frozen wasteland.
A frozen sun now hangs above this land's demise.
The sun itself has become frozen and lifeless in this wasteland created by Aphrodite.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BRIAN DIXON, LEE DORRIAN, GARRY JENNINGS, LEO SMEE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Cory Sloan
After a longevity of duds Cathedral returned with was arguably the best album since the sublime debut. This album had all killer and no filler, thankfully.
Alessandro Thomé
Amazing song!
Nick Garantz
no one should dislike this song...
Giulia Moon
masterpiece!
Satyros2os
Awesome song...
CHARLES WALKINGCROW
I know you don't like Cathedral, your telling me this is not a great track Aphrodite the goddess, you do understand how that works?